Upcoming Giveaway!

Hey guys!

CSN Stores emailed me and asked me if I wanted to do a giveaway for y'all! Of course I said YES!

I'm sure some of you have been to their website. They sell an incredible amount of things for your home and for you! Rugs, exercise equipment, lighting, office supplies... Literally, everything...

So they want to give a reader a gift card... For a surprise amount!

Stay tuned...
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
These are going to be some random eats. The husband has been on a really weird schedule so I've been eating some weird things.

Last night for dinner was rice with broc, roasted sweet potato chips with honey, and a quorn chicken patty with swiss cheese.

It was actually really good and really filling.

Dessert was a Stonyfield vanilla maple with Galaxy Granola. YUM!


Breakfast this morning was AMAZING. I just did a fried egg and laughing cow cheese on a toasted piece of great harvest dakota bread.


Plus an orange.


The egg was perfection. All the white was done and the yolk was just a tad on the runny side. I amaze myself sometimes ;)


Yesterday for breakfast we tried a new pancake mix...


Why do I even bother? I guess I'm just too cheap to order Kodiak Cake mix.

It sure does look good... They were banana walnut pancakes topped with AB, syrup, and coconut.

They were so dry and blah. No wonder people don't like eating healthy pancakes! Back to Kodiak Cakes I guess...

I did learn something too... Never ever put something really interesting on your kiddos food.

Because she'll neglect to eat the healthy part...

The squirrel had coconut for breakfast yesterday. I could not get her to eat a single bite of pancake.

Hope you guys have a great weekend!

The squirrel trying to sit on her toy... She was pretty pissed off that she couldn't ride it!

Also! Don't forget to enter the book giveaway!

A Pregnancy Post

I wanted to skip a food post today... No not because my bad eating trend has continued... But because I've had quite a few questions lately about my pregnancy. Not only from bloggers but friends and family. I didn't want this to become a pregnancy blog but I think some of you might be interested from a medical perspective. Hopefully this post can clear up any questions...

I'll understand if you want to skip this post... It's a little on the boring side and has probably T.M.I... BUT you do get to find out the sex of the baby!

Up until yesterday this pregnancy has been treated completely normal.

Yesterday we had an appointment with a high risk doctor. They did an extensive ultrasound and put me on the right path for keeping this baby to full term.

If you didn't know already, the squirrel was born 3 months early. My water broke 4 months early for unknown reasons. I was on strict bedrest in the hospital for a month and she was born at 28 weeks. She weighed in at 1lb 14oz and still I guess, is technically considered a preemie.

Due to her early appearance you can probably understand why this new pregnancy has put myself, my husband, friends, family, and doctors into a state of paranoia.

The squirrel is a miracle baby. Normally, babies born under 2lbs don't have the same story she has. I'm not bragging. Just grateful she has done so well.

The appointment I had yesterday made all of us feel much more at ease. The doctor seemed certain that this pregnancy would be normal.

The ultrasound revealed that everything looked perfect. The baby is growing, he has a normal amount of amniotic fluid, all his parts are there, and my cervix was a normal length.

Yes... I said HE! It's a BOY.

The husband, thankfully, was able to go to this appointment. Y'all should have seen his face! It was priceless. He is so proud and so happy that he made a boy! He actually took the weenie picture with him to work yesterday to show off! (He'd kill me if he knew this was posted on here!) My reaction was "Are you SURE?!". The ultrasound tech said "Well, there's his penis!". Then I burst into tears.

He's a big ol' boy too (get your mind out of the gutter). The doctor estimates his weight is 6oz. In my pregnancy book it says a normal 17 weeker weighs around 3oz. No wonder I'm getting so big so fast! I feel and look more pregnant now at 17 weeks than when I had the squirrel at 28 weeks. I think because I was fatter then... No joke.

Profile pic

Face pic

Another face pic

Anyways, the doctor started me on 17P. Which is a progesterone shot that helps prevent pre-term labor. I will be on these shots weekly until 35 weeks.

Guess who gets to give me these shots?

The husband... great...

From 22 weeks they will start fetal fibronectin tests. Which should tell the doctor's if I'm going to have the baby within the next 2 weeks. Those tests will go from 22 weeks to 34 weeks every 2 weeks.

Plus I will have an ultrasound every 2 weeks for cervical length and change.

Plus I will still be seen regularly once a month by my regular OB.

See why this appointment made us feel good.

This baby is NOT coming out until 40 weeks. The doctor's are doing everything in their power to make that happen.

Not only is everyone being extremely precautious but I already feel like this pregnancy is different.

With the squirrel I was in the emergency room for bleeding at 5 weeks. From that point on I had bright red bleeding until the day she was born. I also was terribly sick with her from morning sickness.

Not this time around. I literally haven't had a pregnancy symptom. Well besides a growing belly. No vomitting, no cramps, no bleeding. Nothin'.

It's got to be different this time!

If you guys have anymore questions you can email me or use the blue box on the right!

Bad Food Day

Y'all!!! You were supposed to help me out with this canning stuff haha! It seems like canning jam is some sort of mystery. I am bound to figure it out! Stay tuned for a jam disaster!

I've had a rough food day today guys... Well it started with last night's dinner...

It sure does look delicious huh. It's a chicken broccoli lasagna recipe I found here.

It was terrible. Ok maybe not terrible. It wasn't what I wanted it to be. I just needed to make a few adjustments. I wanted something creamy. This was not. As I was making the sauce I noticed the recipe said "custard". Custard? Really? I ended up making a custard...

Instead of a sauce... But that's what the recipe called for. It had really great flavor but the texture was SO weird because of that custard. ONE good thing though... I made custard! I've never done that before and I've heard it can be hard.

I did eat my whole piece plus another lovely salad.

(Spring mix, trail mix, feta, and maple fig dressing)

This morning I had a doctor appointment. The husband was able to go... Thankfully! BUT he got to pick breakfast...

Obviously, my healthy eating habits haven't rubbed off on the husband too much. That would be a Chick-fil-a biscuit and hashbrowns. I've been craving a chicken biscuit which is odd (pregnancy?) because I don't like fried chicken.

Note to self: Just because I'm craving it doesn't mean it's any good. The biscuit was blah. Totally not worth the splurge.

I also had an orange juice...

I hate orange juice... Any guesses as to why I'd be drinking it? It's appointment related and you'll find out why tomorrow :)

When we got back from the appointment I had a KILLER headache. We did lunch out too but I had a salad. At least I tried to get some veggies in.

I did learn today that a handful of chocolate chips...

Does NOT resolve a headache!

However...

A homemade smore does!

Do you guys ever do that? Try to remedy something with food? I swear everytime I have a headache I would die for a piece of chocolate. Even though it doesn't fix anything. I also want a cup of strong regular coffee for my headaches. Maybe it's the caffiene?

Also! Don't forget to enter the book giveaway! It ends Saturday!

More Strawberries and A Canning Question

Last night for dinner was my mom's homemade pizza! YUM!

I may have had one or two or three slices of it. I couldn't stop!

Breakfast this morning was a whole grain bagel scooped out, with 2 tablespoons honey walnut cream cheese. Plus more strawberries. The only reason I scooped the insides of the bagel out is because I don't really like these bagels. They are really bready (is that a word)? They are really dense. I like light, airy, bagel-shop bagels. These are almost cake-like. However, they do have 10 grams of protein!


Y'all I had so many strawberries I didn't know what to do with them. They were super ripe too so I needed to figure something out!

So for lunch I made this...

Strawberry vinaigrette! It was just strawberries, olive oil, balsamic, a splash of orange juice, and a drizzle of honey. All blended in the food processor.

It made my salad super yummy!

(Spring mix, feta, toasted almonds, and roasted sweet potatoes)

And for dessert these two got married...

This combo was delish! Galaxy not sweet granola and Stonyfield maple vanilla yogurt. It was my last yogurt. :(

And I'll leave you guys with the squirrel being cute. Check out how well she knows her fresh produce! Maybe she'll be a farmer?


Also! Don't forget to enter the book giveaway!

AND a question for you guys!!!

Have any of you done any canning? I was really thinking about canning my own strawberry jam for Christmas presents and maybe giveaways. HOWEVER, I don't have a canner and have no clue how to do it.

Do you need to have a canner to seal the jars?

The Strawberries Are Here!

The strawberry picking season has commenced!

It was the squirrel's first time!

She definitely knew what she was doing...

And then she REALLY knew what she was doing!


One happy strawberry picker!


We ended up with a huge bucket full of them. Maybe 4lbs? for $3.50! Plus we enjoyed some homemade strawberry icecream...


This kid was in heaven...


Now we've got too many strawberries... What to do with them?

Breakfast this morning was an ol' favorite. Overnight oats... Well they should really be called "two day old oats". I meant to eat them on Saturday morning. Plus some freshly picked, perfectly ripe strawberries.

The mix was 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Muesli, one container of vanilla maple Stonyfield yogurt, and 1/2 cup of skim milk. This was the best overnight oats I've ever made. I think because it had that maple yogurt in it.

The husband has been on a night flight schedule. Which explains my lack in posting. He goes in around 3pm and doesn't come home till 1am. Which is nice because we get the whole morning together.

This morning we ended up walking and then getting Chick-fil-a for lunch.

I got the usual. Grilled chicken sandwich, side salad with berry balsamic, and the rest of the squirrel's fries.

And as I'm typing this I'm munching on a Gala apple (the best!) and an Oikos honey yogurt (not so great).

Well I'm off to go catch up on your lives...

Anyone have any good uses for strawberries?

Also! Don't forget to enter the book giveaway!

Health/Wellness Book Giveaway!

Hey everyone! The wonderful people over at Snubbr.com contacted me to host a giveaway!

Snubbr really is a cool site that I didn't even knew existed.

Basically "Snubbr recommends products you'll love from consumer electronics to gift ideas. We're like Yahoo Answers for shopping advice. Let's say you want to buy a new digital camera. Instead of spending hours reading reviews, you can just ask our experts, and we'll recommend the best cameras for you. We'll do all the research and work, saving you time and stress." - From the Snubbr: Gift Ideas website.

I have personally found it really helpful with baby products!

So what's in it for you?

Snubbr's gift to one lucky reader is a health/wellness book from this list.

Here's how to enter:

- Leave a comment telling me which book you'd like to have the most.
- Become a follower of my blog and leave a comment telling me you are following (if you are already a follower just tell me you are)
- Link back to this post and leave a SEPARATE comment telling me you did so.

The squirrel will pick a winner on May 1st!
Let me know if you have any questions...

What's New?

I guess my past 5 posts should be titled "Sorry for being MIA!". I have had no motivation you guys!

Probably because we've been doing lots of this:



Some serious Daddy lovin! Plus lots of this:


The squirrel got a new slide!

I have been taking lots of food pictures though so I'm going to warn you in advance. This post is going to be all over the place! I've been trying a lot of new products so I'm excited to share some of my reviews with you!

For breakfast I've been doing my usual. Egg whites, laughing cow, and ham on a bagel thin. Instead of the whole wheat bagel thin I've been using the everything. They both have the same amount of fiber and protein! The everything is just tastier!


I've been eating a lot of hummus for lunch lately... My NEW Sabra hummus we found in Savannah. My favorite flavor so far! It is so refreshing!


Today I had a cucumber, hummus, spinach and turkey bagel thin. With 2% cottage cheese and a tablespoon of pear butter. We don't recycle (long story) so I keep all of my yogurt cups. They are perfect for portioning things like cottage cheese, pretzels, chips, or any other snacks. They are also perfect for the squirrel to eat her snacks in!


The other day I tried a Bumblebee tuna sensation. Pretty yummy! I used a sandwich thin, swiss cheese, and tuna.


The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the crackers that came with it. They were flavorless and had no nutritional value. Even the squirrel wouldn't eat them...


The pregnancy cravings have kicked in. One craving has been this new Stonyfield maple vanilla yogurt. I literally bought out a store near me. Amazingly, this stuff is only a limited edition! What are you thinking Stonyfield?! This yogurt is heaven...


The squirrel loves it too... But I don't like to share...


I've also been craving pretzels...

Paired with diet coke.


I can drink diet coke as long as it's made with splenda. No aspartame.

At least my cravings aren't french fries and icecream! Yet.....

I've got to go catch up on your blogs! You guys have been awfully busy! :)